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10 Practical Ways to Reset Your Nervous System (Backed by Science)
Feeling wired, burnt out, or emotionally reactive? These are signs your nervous system might be dysregulated. Whether it’s chronic stress, trauma, or just too much stimulation, learning how to reset your nervous system is essential for healing, calm, and clarity.
Here are 10 methods to regulate your nervous system with scientific journals to back it up:
1. Alternate Nostril Breathing
Your breath directly affects your nervous system.
How to Do Alternate Nostril Breathing to Regulate Your Nervous System:
- Sit comfortably: Find a relaxed seated position with your spine straight and shoulders relaxed.
- Position your hand:
- Use your right thumb to close your right nostril.
- Use your right ring finger to close your left nostril (you’ll alternate between the two).
- Begin the cycle:
- Close your right nostril with your thumb and inhale through your left nostril slowly.
- Close your left nostril with your ring finger and exhale through your right nostril.
- Inhale through your right nostril, then switch and exhale through the left.
- Repeat: Continue this cycle for 1–5 minutes, keeping the breath smooth and calm.
- Finish: Always end the practice by exhaling through the left nostril.
Findings: This study suggests that alternate nostril breathing significantly enhances parasympathetic tone, indicating its potential to promote relaxation and reduce stress.
2. Cold Exposure
Cold exposure, like a cold shower or face dunk in ice water, triggers a vagus nerve reset. This builds resilience and calms inflammation.
Start with 15 seconds at the end of your normal shower. Add time gradually.
Findings: Cold exposure, such as the Cold Face Test, can stimulate vagal activity and inhibit the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, leading to reduced stress responses.
3. Practice Yoga Nidra or NSDR
These are deep rest techniques that bring your body into a healing brainwave state.
10–30 minutes of Yoga Nidra or Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR) can give your nervous system the break it’s craving.
Study: “The Origin and Clinical Relevance of Yoga Nidra”
Findings: Yoga Nidra practice has been shown to induce changes in cerebral blood flow and reduce symptoms of mild depression and anxiety, highlighting its effectiveness in promoting relaxation and emotional balance.
30 Minute Yoga Nidra
Or if you prefer something less spiritual and more scientific, here is Andrew Huberman’s NSDR:
10 min NSDR Huberman
Further Huberman Reading:
4. Fix Your Light Exposure
Too much screen time at night? Not enough daylight in the morning?
Your nervous system takes cues from light. Aim for:
- Sunlight in your eyes within 30 minutes of waking
- No bright screens 2 hours before bed
It’s free. And it works.
Study: “Effects of Light on Human Circadian Rhythms, Sleep and Mood”
Findings: Proper light exposure plays a crucial role in regulating circadian rhythms, which in turn affects sleep quality and mood. Misaligned light exposure can disrupt these rhythms and negatively impact health.
5. Grounding Techniques
Nervous system dysregulation often shows up as disconnection.
To reconnect:
- Walk barefoot on natural ground (grounding)
- Dance, stretch, or shake for a few minutes daily
- Do slow, mindful movement (like tai chi or somatic exercises)
Study: “Practical Applications of Grounding to Support Health”
Findings: Grounding techniques can balance mood, support the central nervous system, and reduce chronic inflammation, contributing to overall well-being.
6. Limit Caffeine & Alcohol
Both spike and crash your nervous system, especially if you’re already dysregulated.
Try taking a break for a week and notice the difference in your emotional regulation and sleep.
Findings: This study indicates that stress, caffeine, and ethanol can trigger neurological dysfunction through shared pathways, suggesting the importance of moderating their intake to maintain nervous system health.
7. Use Adaptogenic Herbs (Like Kanna)
Certain herbs support nervous system health by regulating neurotransmitters and stress hormones.
One example is Kanna (Sceletium tortuosum)—a South African plant traditionally used to relieve anxiety and restore emotional balance.
It works in part by modulating serotonin and acting as a PDE-4 inhibitor—which may help reduce overactivation of the stress response.
Study: “A Preliminary Review of Studies on Adaptogens”
Findings: Adaptogens have been demonstrated to regulate stress-related changes and may improve resilience to stress, supporting their use in nervous system regulation.
Further reading:
→ What is Kanna?
→ Where To Buy Kanna Near Me
8. Get More Deep Sleep
Your nervous system resets during slow-wave (deep) sleep.
If you’re struggling, try the Huberman Sleep Cocktail:
Also… sleep in a cold, dark, quiet room. Every little bit helps.
Study: “New Study Suggests Sleep Resets the Brain Like a Computer”
Findings: Sleep helps return the brain to a balanced state for optimal functioning, emphasizing the importance of deep sleep in maintaining nervous system health.
9. Journal or Express What’s Unsaid
Holding in emotion leads to physical dysregulation.
Try journaling a few lines at night or recording a voice memo to get things out of your head.
This gives your nervous system closure.
Findings: Positive affect journaling can reduce mental distress and improve well-being, suggesting its effectiveness as a tool for emotional regulation.
10. Don’t Force It — Let the Reset Happen Naturally
The nervous system doesn’t heal through force. It heals through consistent safety.
That means doing less, saying no, setting boundaries, and showing your body it’s not in danger anymore. You can learn more about the nervous system with this nervous system chart.
Study: “Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Central Sensitivity Syndromes”
Findings: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can reduce symptoms and improve quality of life in patients with central sensitivity syndromes, highlighting the benefits of acceptance-based approaches in nervous system regulation.
Dysregulated Nervous System Symptoms
- You overreact to small things
- You can’t calm down even when safe
- You feel numb or emotionally flat
- Your digestion is off
- You’re stuck in either high anxiety or total shutdown (a helpful book for this is – Hope and Help for Your Nerves)
- You’re tired but wired
Sound familiar? That’s your nervous system asking for help. Here is a list of books on emotional regulation which may be helpful.
You Don’t Need to “Do It All” to Heal Your Nervous System
Pick one or two things from this list and start today. Even five minutes of nervous system regulation adds up.
The more consistently you reset your nervous system, the faster your body starts to trust you again. Here is an anecdotal story of trying a few of these methods in one week:
heykanna
How To Know Where To Buy Kanna Near Me?
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